VALLEY CITY - Sadiqah Jihad made two free throws with 0.3 seconds left to force overtime, and Georgia Williams poured in nine straight points in the extra period as the Viking women knocked off No. 11-ranked University of Jamestown, 72-65 Saturday in front of a raucous W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse crowd.
The Jimmies trailed by as many as 15 in the second half, but rallied back to take the lead and led 56-54 in the final seconds. With 2 seconds left and the ball under their basket, the Vikings inbounded to Jihad who drove to the hoop and was fouled with 0.3 seconds left. She calmly sank both free throws, sending the game in overtime.
In the extra frame Williams took over. The sophomore from Wulguru, Australia, hit six straight free throws to put the Vikings up 64-58. She then sank the dagger, a 3 from the right corner that gave the Vikings a commanding 67-58 lead with a minute to go.
The result moves the Vikings and Jimmies into a tie for first place in the North Star Athletic Association. VCSU is now 17-7 overall and 5-1 in the NSAA. Jamestown drops to 18-6 overall and 5-1 in the North Star. The teams have split their two meetings, with the home team winning each game by 7.
The Vikings held a 31-24 halftime lead and extended it to 42-27 with 14:48 remaining. The Jimmies responded with 13 straight points, capped by a 3 from Chelsey Frydenlund, to pull within two points at 42-40. Out of a timeout the Vikings scored the next eight points to rebuild a 50-40 lead with 7:25 to go.
The Jimmies were not done yet, ripping off a 13-2 run over the next five minutes, taking their first lead of the second half, 53-52, on a bucket by Bryn Woodside with 1:28 remaining. A free throw by Woodside put the Jimmies up 56-54 with 26 seconds to go. Jihad missed a shot inside with about 5 seconds to go, but a jump ball on the rebound gave the Vikings the ball under their basket with 2 seconds to go, setting up Jihad's clutch drive and free throws to end regulation.
Jamestown had 25 offensive rebounds in the game, which led to 14 more shot attempts than the Vikings. But the Jimmies struggled to make shots, shooting 31 percent from the field (21-68), 24 percent on 3's (5-21) and 53 percent on free throws (18-34).
Valley City State finished 43 percent from the field (23-54), 40 percent on 3's (4-10) and 76 percent on free throws (22-29).
Jihad had 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals to lead the Vikings Saturday. Williams poured in 19 points, including 10 in overtime. Lexi Lennon had 14 points and eight rebounds off the bench, and Courtney Dixon added 12 points and four rebounds off the bench. Allyson Suhr added six points, including the Vikings' first basket of overtime.
The Jimmies were led by 20 points from Chelsey Frydenlund, who finished 4-for-7 on 3's. Jessica Buck had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Megan Pold recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards.
The Vikings committed 17 turnovers compared to 16 for the Jimmies. Jamestown won the rebound battle 50-39 including a 25-10 edge on the offensive glass.
Up next: VCSU (17-7, 5-1 NSAA) travels to Dickinson State on Wednesday. Jamestown (18-6, 5-1 NSAA) hosts Presentation College on Wednesday.
